Vegetables

You have clicked on the Vegetable Group, which is in level 2 of the Pyramid

Vegetables may be the most nutritionally important part of our diet, but we need to make careful choices. When we make good choices, vegetables provide us with needed minerals, vitamins and fiber, as well as adding anti-oxidants and phytochemicals which may have health benefits unrelated to nutrition. Some vegetables also provide additional carbohydrate, and some have protein, too. Many vegetables are very low in calories, so we can eat larger quantities or those without worry.

We should have at least 3 - 5 servings of different vegetables daily.
Suggested Serving Size for Vegetables
1/2 cup vegetable

Vegetables (depending on our choices) provide us with:
Most of our needed minerals, including calcium, potassium and magnesium
Vitamin C
Vitamin A (carotene sources)
Folacin (Folic acid)
Some carbohydrate in the form of starch
Lots of fiber
Most vegetables are 10 - 15% protein, and are good protein sources if we eat a variety of them.
Vegetable oils are excellent sources of vitamin E

Unfortunately, if you choose some of the more popular vegetables, you get mostly carbohydrate, and very little of the needed minerals and vitamins.

Let's check some vegetables and a few fruits for their nutritional use vs. favorite status. This study was based on the contribution of 10 vitamins and minerals. It's from some time ago; we have increased our broccoli consumption by 35%, but it's still not in the top. Also, this study did not include all foods. Bok choy and kale, for example, are very nutritious, but not frequently eaten in the United States.

Nutritional rank
             Consumption preference (Nutritional rank)


1.   broccoli                  1.   tomatoes (16)
2.   spinach                   2.   oranges (33)
3.   Brussels sprouts          3.   potatoes (14)
4.   lima beans                4.   lettuce (26)
5.   peas                      5.   corn (15)
6.   asparagus                 6.   bananas (18)
7.   artichokes                7.   carrots (10)
8.   cauliflower               8.   cabbage (15)
9.   sweet potatoes            9.   onions (31)
10.  carrots                  10.  sweet potatoes (9)

What does this say about our food choices and nutrition?

We need good food choices to use vegetables (and fruits) for our vitamin and mineral requirements. Fortunately we can learn to make these wiser choices with a little knowledge of botany...

Botany For Nutrition
Learning a little about how plants work, and about a few Plant Families makes for good nutrient choices!

Plant Workings
Greens are the active metabolic parts of plants -- so they naturally have more vitamins and minerals (and very few calories)
Seeds are the embryonic plant. They have many nutrients needed to get the seed established (but this is also where you will find the fat in plants)
Most fruits are, in nature, a plan by the plant to encourage somebody to disperse its babies to new locations. Fruits cater to the sweet tooth of animals. They often have fewer nutrients than vegetables, but contain dilute sugars naturally.
Dark green and orange plant foods are good carotene (safe Vitamin A) sources.

But to make life easier: Botany and Plant Families
A lot of nutrients are concentrated in just a few types of plants. Like animals, biologists categorize plants into related groups, called families. If we learn a few of these "nutritionally beneficial families", our food choices become easier.

Cruciferous Vegetables - The Cabbage family (Cruciferae)
Calcium source
Excellent for many vitamins and minerals
Carotene when dark green
Indoles (potential for inhibiting cancers)

Legumes (Beans, lentils, etc.) (Leguminosae)
High Protein
Iron
Starch, too

Solanaceous Vegetables - Tomato, Pepper, Potato, Eggplant (Solanaceae)
Vitamin C (Good for Iron absorption)

Chenopodiaceous Vegetables - Beets, Spinach (Chenopodiaceae)
Iron
Carotene
Many minerals

Citrus Fruits (Rutaceae)
Vitamin C (Good for Iron absorption)

Rosaceous Fruits - Apple, Peach, Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry, etc.. (Rosaceae)
Some Vitamin C
Some a little Iron
TASTY

Grains - The Grasses (Gramineae, for the most part).
Excellent source of starch and, when whole grains, fiber
May contain B vitamins and iron, when the grain product is enriched, and most processed grains are.
Whole grains often have vitamin E

Where to find some of the most needed nutrients
Vitamin A
Deep green vegies
Orange vegies and fruits except citrus

Vitamin C
citrus fruits
Cabbage family vegies, espcially broccoli and Brussels sprouts
Potato, tomato, and red and green peppers

Calcium
Most greens and broccoli

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